Armed militia takeover in Oregon

Oregon militia standoff

After a self-styled armed militia group staged a takeover of the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon, lasting more than one month, twelve arrests have been made and one person killed.

Cliven Bundy, one of the leaders of the group along with his two sons, was arrested during a standoff on Feb. 10, 2016 in Portland. The last four armed occupiers of the refuge said they would turn themselves in the morning of Feb. 12, after law officers surrounded them in a tense standoff.

The occupation of a wildlife refuge by armed protesters in Oregon reflects a decades-old dispute over land rights in the United States, where local communities have increasingly sought to take back federal land. The takeover was precipitated by the arrest of two ranchers, Jan. 2, 2016.

In this photo, a closed Sod House Lane, about 4 miles outside of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, displays an electronic sign warning of arrest, Feb. 11 near Burns.

Credit: Rebecca Boone/AP

Oregon militia standoff

People wave American flags near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Feb. 11, 2016, near Burns hours before the last four armed occupiers of the refuge surrendered.

They were arrested by the FBI without incident.

Credit: Rebecca Boone/AP

Cliven Bundy

Cliven Bundy poses for a mugshot photo after his arrest during a standoff on Feb. 10, 2016 in Portland.

Bundy, along with sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, led a group of armed followers, adopting the name Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, and occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Cliven Bundy was charged with assault, conspiracy and firearms offenses in Nevada related to the 2014 standoff near his Nevada ranch.

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum

Arizona cattle rancher Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, 55, talks to the media at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 5, 2016. Finicum was identified by a federal law enforcement CBS News source as the person killed in the traffic-stop shooting Jan. 26, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia arrests

Three more suspects linked to the armed occupation of the federal wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered Jan. 27, 2016.

Ryan Bundy

Ryan Bundy leaves a meeting with the Pacific Patriots Network, who attempted to resolve the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 9, 2016.

Bundy, the older brother of militia leader Ammon Bundy, was arrested on Jan. 26 along with Ammon and six others. Those arrested face a a federal felony charge of conspiracy to impede officers of the U.S. from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Ammon Bundy & Shawna Cox

Ammon Bundy (L), and supporter Shawna Cox work in an office at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon on Jan. 6, 2016.

Both Bundy and Cox were among the eight arrested by authorities on Jan. 26.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

Law enforcement personnel monitor an intersection of closed Highway 395 in Burns, Oregon on Jan. 26, 2016, during a standoff pitting an anti-government militia against the US authorities.

Credit: Rob Kerr/AFP/Getty Images

Militia takeover in Oregon

Militiamen stand on a road at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Jan. 4, 2016.

Bundy told reporters Tuesday the group would leave when there was a plan in place to turn over federal lands to locals -- a common refrain in a decades-long fight over public lands in the West.

"It is our goal to get the logger back to logging, the rancher back to ranching," said the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights.

Credit: Rob Kerr/AFP/Getty Images

Militia takeover in Oregon

A militiaman carries a knife at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2016.

A group of self-styled militiamen occupied the headquarters of a U.S. wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon in a standoff with authorities, in the latest dispute over federal land use in the West.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

A U.S. flag covers a sign at the entrance of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 3, 2016.

While the standoff in rural Oregon by a small group of approximately 20 people was prompted by the jailing of two ranchers convicted of arson, experts say the issue at the core of the dispute runs much deeper and concerns grazing or timber rights as well as permits to work mines on government land in Western states.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

Militiamen embrace along with Ammon Bundy (centre, R) after Bundy spoke to the media at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2016.

Ammon Bundy, a leader of the group, told reporters outside the occupied facility on Jan. 4 that his group had named itself "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom" and was trying to restore individual rights.

A county sheriff and judge on Monday demanded that self-styled militiamen occupying a remote U.S. wildlife center in Oregon peacefully end their anti-government siege, telling the protesters: "It's time for you to leave our community."

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

A bumper sticker on a private truck is seen in front of a residential building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

A watch tower is manned by occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

Housing units are seen at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2016.

The leaders of a group of self-styled militiamen who took over a U.S. wildlife refuge headquarters over the weekend said on Jan. 4 they had acted to protest the federal government's role in governing wild lands.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

Members of an armed anti-government militia, monitor the entrance to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters near Burns, Oregon Jan. 5, 2016.

Credit: Rob Kerr/AFP/Getty Images

Militia takeover in Oregon

Self-described Patriot and former U.S. Marine Jon Ritzheimer poses for a picture at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

A skull of a deer is seen in front of the residential building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

Patches on the sleeve of a militiaman is seen at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

A private truck pulls away from a residential building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2016.

Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

Militia takeover in Oregon

An occupier walks along a road at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2016.

The Jan. 2nd takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside the town of Burns, Oregon, marked the latest protest over federal management of public land in the West, long seen by conservatives in the region as an intrusion on individual rights.